


The One Who Is Always There For Her

by MissAllySwan



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, One Shot, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-25
Updated: 2020-07-25
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:41:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25512985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissAllySwan/pseuds/MissAllySwan
Summary: Reid finds out about Emily's nightmares.
Relationships: Emily Prentiss/Spencer Reid
Kudos: 25





	The One Who Is Always There For Her

_Nightmares._

_Everyone has them. Everyone has had them. But ones that are recurring are the ones that are the worst. Because it's like they never seem to end._

_..._

Screaming. Emily Prentiss woke up screaming and breathing heavily. She looked around the darkness of her apartment bedroom. She reached from the lamp to the right of her and turned on the lights. It was just her and Sergio. She breathed in both relief and terror. She dropped her head into her hands, trying to calm down.

_It was a dream. Just a dream._

Emily told herself that every time she woke up from the same dream. She has had it for months. But more frequently since she had gotten back home and to work. Same dream and she wakes up the same way, panicky and afraid.

What Emily went through was something she still hasn't gotten over mentally. She can work and do everything like she used to. She just sometimes can't relax or sleep at night.

She turned to her clock to see that it was 3:45 in the morning. She sighed, her head falling back onto the pillow behind her. She doesn't close her eyes or turn the lights off. She keeps them on and open; she never goes back to sleep after the nightmare.

_Doyle. Blood. Death. Team. Gone._

Ian Doyle may be dead, but he never really is in Emily's mind. She went undercover to get him in jail and then after breaking out, he almost killed her. She remembered it perfectly. She remembered and still could feel the white hot pain that came after he stabbed her. The pain of the multiple beating she received before. She remembered Morgan taking her hand as she fought to stay awake. Morgan and Reid telling her to hold on. The decision she made to fake her death. The seven months she stayed away from her family in fear because of Doyle. Missing everything. She lost everything. Then she came back and some hated her. Some were angry at her friends who protected her. _Everything was a mess._

Things were better. A lot better. She was back home with her team. Her family, but she still felt like she did when she was in hiding. Scared and alone.

* * *

They would be flying on the jet tonight. Emily didn't want to risk anything so she made sure she would be awake the entire time until the next night when they would go to a hotel. Morgan, Hotch, and Rossi were on the far end of the plane. Already asleep.

Penelope and JJ close to them, but distanced. They feel asleep only a little later.

Then Reid and Emily. Reid had fallen asleep a while ago, while reading a new book. Emily was the only one awake. She was exhausted, but she didn't need anyone to worry. She certainly didn't want to cause the team anymore troubles than faking her death and leaving already did.

She glanced at her watch and it was about 2:15 when her vision started to get blurry as her eyes slowly closed. She tried to fight it, but eventually she didn't have enough energy and fell asleep. _Of course that wouldn't last long._

Soon enough, Reid woke up, he was a light sleeper, so he woke up often if someone got up to use the bathroom. He looked around and soon saw that Emily was moving and mumbling in her sleep. It wasn't the peaceful kind either. She looked _scared._

 _No, no! Stop!_ Reid heard her mumbled and he knew she was having a nightmare.

"Emily." He said, softly. But nothing. He put his hand on her shoulder and shook her a little. "Emily." He said again, louder and that was when Emily woke up, like she did before. She let out a noise of shock as she woke up and breathed heavily. "Hey, it's okay. It was just a dream." He told her, but he didn't know the half of this one dream that has been haunting her for a long time.

It took a few minutes before she calmed down. "Sorry, didn't mean to wake you." Emily apologized.

"No, it's okay. I was already awake." Reid told her. He looked at her and knew something was wrong. "Are you sure, you're okay?" He asked her and she nodded. But of course she would, Emily was stubborn with things and this was one of them.

"I'm okay." Emily said, but Reid knew from the way she said it, she wasn't. Something was bothering. Something much more and he needed to know.

"Have you been having nightmares often?" He asked her. He remembered getting the bad ones when he started working and Morgan helped him. He figured that it might be a similar thing since Emily just got back to work.

Emily didn't want to answer and she didn't want to say that she was because she didn't want him to worry. She also didn't want to lie to him. She nodded. "How long?" Reid then asked.

"Since I left." She admitted. "It's been more frequent since I got back."

"Why didn't you say anything to Hotch? Or Rossi? Or me?"

"The team doesn't need to worry about me. Haven't I put you guys through enough when I faked my death?" She stated.

"Emily, we're a family and even though that was really tough, we got through it. And you are still getting through things and that is fine. I think we care more about whether one of us is okay or not." He said. Emily let out a sigh, it was almost the same feeling she felt when Penelope called her. "Now, are you okay?"

Emily shook her head. She knew she wasn't okay, some nights she couldn't sleep. Doyle was gone, but it was like he was still there. She relived what happened and even more that could've happened. Tears formed in Emily's eyes and Reid wrapped her arms around her.

"It's okay. I'm here for you. We all are." Reid told her as he held her tightly. Tears fell from her eyes. "What is happening?" He wanted to know what she is dreaming about.

"I reliving everything, most of the time." She told him. He knew she was talking about the Doyle stuff and her death.

"And other times?"

"It's worse. He comes after all of you…and makes me watch." More tears fell and Reid held her closer. She hated them, she was powerless, watching the only people that cared about her, die. Right in front of her, without anything she could do. It wasn't real, but it was to her. Doyle would have done it if he got the chance.

"He won't hurt you and or any of us ever." Reid whispered. "Just know that we will do anything for you. Anything to help you." She knew that, but sometimes her love for them, clouding her judgement; like when going alone to fight Doyle.

Emily took Reid's hand that was closest to her and held it tight. She loved Reid, he always knew what to do and say to her. _He was the one who was always there for her._

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this little fic back in 2014. Not my best writing but I thought I would share it on here as well.


End file.
